This week in the world of sports science, here’s what happened…
- Andrew Huberman’s podcast on improving sleep
- The power of body language
- Can MyJump2 accurately measure jump height on a sand surface?
Andrew Huberman’s podcast on improving sleep
Many athletes fail to optimize their sleep, despite understanding its critical importance. Recently, Andrew Huberman’s podcast “Huberman Lab” featured Dr Matthew Walker as a guest, discussing protocols to improve sleep. Although the podcast was almost three hours long, it gained nearly 100,000 YouTube views in just 24 hours after being uploaded.
Walker emphasized the importance of good sleep hygiene and offered some practical tips. He stressed the need for a regular bedtime, even on weekends, and the importance of darkness to promote the secretion of the hormone melatonin, which aids sleep. Walker also spoke about the brain’s ability to associate, explaining that if you spend too much time in bed awake, your brain may begin to dissociate sleep from your bedroom environment. In this case, Walker believes it is best to get up and “walk it out” and only return to your bedroom when you start feeling sleepy, so your brain associates your bedroom with sleeping.
In the podcast, Walker also discussed the impact of caffeine and alcohol on sleep. He advises avoiding caffeine up to 10 hours before bedtime, so it does not negatively impact sleep. He also believes that alcohol is not a sleep aid, and that “sedation” is not sleep. Walker discussed various methods to improve sleep quality, including CBD, acoustic stimulation, warm baths, sleep supplements, and body position.
Although the podcast is quite long, it is highly recommended for its many nuggets of knowledge on sleep. I’m certain that you or your athletes can learn something new about sleep from this podcast!
The power of body language
Last week, Dr Tom Seabury, a renowned psychologist and founder of Seabury Performance, published an insightful blog on the importance of body language. In the blog, Seabury explains how body language can reveal an athlete’s emotional state and how it can influence the perceptions of teammates, coaches, opponents, and sports fans.
Seabury highlights that exhibiting positive body language, such as “standing tall with shoulders back and head held high”, can lower the level of cortisol and increase the level of testosterone, resulting in reduced stress and improved performance. On the other hand, negative body language like slumping shoulders or fidgeting can lead to self-doubt and hinder performance. If you are a combat sports fan, do you recall the stoic and chilled stare of MMA fighter Fedor Emelianenko or the confident posture of boxer Wladimir Klitschko during his ring walk? These athletes exuded positive body language, making them memorable to combat sports fans.
Seabury also discusses how body language can influence the perceptions of others. He gives an example of a boxer imitating an opponent to disrupt their game plan. (It’s safe to say that Emelianenko and Klitschko intimidated many of their opponents with their body language!). Seabury also talks about how positive body language exhibited by a footballer can boost team morale and togetherness.
Seabury concludes the blog by emphasising the importance of treating body language like physical fitness and technical sporting skills. I encourage readers to check out the blog to learn more about enhancing performance through positive body language.
Can MyJump2 accurately measure jump height on a sand surface?
A recent study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning has given a boost to the reputation of the MyJump2 app. The study involved 21 participants who performed five countermovement jumps on a sand surface. The jumps were recorded simultaneously by force plates, a VERT brand inertial measuring unit, and the MyJump2 app.
The study found that the MyJump2 app had a near-perfect agreement for assessing countermovement jump height compared to the force plates. On the other hand, the VERT-branded inertial measuring unit was less accurate than MyJump2. The researchers concluded that MyJump2 is a valid and reliable tool for assessing countermovement jump height even on a sand surface, while the VERT-branded inertial measuring unit is not recommended.
Therefore, if you train beach sports athletes and want to assess their explosive leg power, using MyJump2 even on sand, is recommended.
From us this week:
>> New course: Strength Training For Rowers
>> New podcast: How To Reduce Hamstring Injury Risk
>> New infographic: R.A.M.P It. Sport Warm-Ups
>> New article: We Tested The Best Weightlifting Shoes In 2024 (Olympic Lifting, Squats, & More)
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